Summer With the Marauders
by PhoenixDreamer55
Summary: What happens when the marauders go to the pool? The answer is: anything... Follow the Marauder's adventures in their best summer yet. Final chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

"Oi, Padfoot! Throw it over here!" 15 year old James called from the other end of the pool.

Sirius, wearing black and white flower print swim trunks, and looking mighty fine indeed, lobbed the inflatable beach ball in the general direction of, not James, but Remus. Not knowing he was in danger of getting walloped by a beach ball, Remus sat pleasantly at the edge of the pool absorbed in a book.

"HEADS UP, MOONY!!" yelled James as he tried to restrain a laugh at his unknowing friend.

Remus looked up just in time to get pegged in the face with a sopping wet beach ball.

"Aww man, Sirius, you got my book all wet!" Remus said while wiping his face with the towel he brought. Knowing something like this would probably happen, as it always did when the marauders visited the pool, he had brought one just in case.

However Sirius was too busy clutching the side of the pool to keep from drowning to hear Remus's remark.

Laughing hysterically, he called, "RIGHT…" and he disappeared beneath the water for a moment when he lost his grip on the edge. "ON THE MARK!" Sirius shouted as he surfaced once more, still laughing like mad. "I told you I could hit him Wormtail! Now cough up my galleons!"

Peter, who was crouched at the edge of the pool with his hands frantically digging in his pockets, looked quite crestfallen over the realization that his pockets were, in fact, empty.

"Umm… er… Sirius? I- I don't think I have 10 galleons on me right now but c- could I maybe pay you back after holiday?" He asked meekly, not daring to meet Sirius's eye.

"Wormtail, you tosser!! You do this every time! Don't bet unless you have the galleons to pay up!!" Sirius yelled.

On the other side of the pool, Remus was drying off his book with a charm and James was attempting to retrieve the fly away beach ball which was now rolling as fast as it could away from James.

"Get back here you ruddy beach ball!" James yelled, diving at it and hitting his head on the nearest chair.

"You know James, if you continue talking to inanimate objects, someone might think you're as crazy as old Mad-Eye." Remus looked back at James with a sly smirk on his face. "Would you care for some assistance?" he asked.

"No – of course not!" grunted James as he dived yet again for the beach ball. "I'm the best seeker this school has ever seen! I can catch a silly beach –"

But at that moment, the beach ball suddenly came to an abrupt halt, and still going full steam ahead, James tripped up over it and went flying into the pool.

"WHAT THE –!" but at the sight of James, Sirius stopped and burst out laughing once again. "BRILLIANT MOONY!! Good ol' bewitched beach ball!! Gets him every time!"

Remus smiled as he calmly walked over and picked up the beach ball. "Such a lot of trouble over a silly ball, don't you think Sirius?" and with a flick of his wand sent the beach ball flying at Sirius who was still laughing uncontrollably at James. It was a great shot. The beach ball zoomed towards Sirius and hit him with such force he fell back into the water.

"I do love ball games," Remus said as he walked back to his chair and began reading, well, who knows what he was reading, once again.

Now it was James's turn to laugh as Sirius shook his head and tried to regain a bit of his composure.

"I'll get you Moony! Just you wait!" He called to Remus, who just acknowledged it with a small smile and continued reading.

"We highly underestimate him," Sirius said darkly to James. "Oh but he won't know what hit him when WE get him." He grinned and rubbed his hands together in plotting. He and James then put their heads together to come up with their newest plan of revenge against Remus.

10 minutes had passed before Peter spoke up again.

"Uh... guys? James?" Peter asked quietly, not wanting to disturb his friend's concentration. "James?" He asked again, a little louder this time.

"Yeah yeah, what is it Peter?" James asked with a wave of his hand.

"Um, well, I- I think you ought to see who just walked in."


	2. Chapter 2

"What are you talking about Wormtail, why would I- oh…" and at this Sirius looked over to the pool entrance as well, and just in time to see Lily Evans and two of her friends walking in. Remus had noticed too and was now looking at James to see his reaction. Sirius was the first to speak.

"Ok now mate, we need to be smooth here. You've got to have a plan. No just barging up like you usually- HEY!! PRONGS!! GET BACK HERE!!" for without warning James had jumped out of the pool and started toward Lily.

"Bloody hell, this is not going to end well," Sirius muttered to himself as he too hopped out of the pool. Remus was obviously thinking along the same lines as he had put his book down and was glancing towards where Lily had entered.

James was almost upon her know, a huge grin plastered to his face and his hair tousled from the pool. Lily apparently hadn't noticed the Marauder's presence, well, until now that is.

"'Ello Evans. You come here to swim?" James asked when he reached her.

Lily rolled her eyes while her friends giggled behind her.

"Swim? What a silly idea, Potter. Why would I come to a pool, to SWIM? You just get funnier every day," and with one final mean glare at James, stalked off to the other end of the pool, her friends still giggling like mad.

"Evans..." Sirius drawled as he nodded his head in her direction.

"Black," she said without stopping.

However as she passed Remus's chair she stopped to smile at him.

"Good afternoon, Remus."

"Hello, Lily. How are you?" Remus asked pleasantly.

"Oh, you know, the usual," she said and jerked her head towards James.

"I'm sorry about him. He really does mean well though."

"Yeah I'm sure. Well anyway, good seeing you again Remus."

"And you," he replied as she continued to walk around the pool.

She and her friends sat down in three chairs across the pool from where the marauders had dumped their stuff. As they began to take off their over clothes Remus turned to hear James sighing beside him.

"I just don't get it mate. She talks to you! And you're not even that great looking!" James said in an exasperated voice.

Remus shook his head and smiled, knowing that James didn't really mean all that he said around Lily.

"Perhaps your lack of gentlemanly-like behavior?" Remus asked sarcastically.

"What do you mean Moony?" Sirius said walking up to the group, with Peter tailing behind him. "Prongs here is the epitome of gentlemanly."

"Only compared to you, I'm afraid, Sirius." Remus said.

"Excuse you MR. Moony! I come from the Ancient and No-,"

"The Ancient and Noble House of Black, yes we know Sirius. However, considering the fact you claim to be unrelated to the Blacks most of the time, I don't think that counts as a valid excuse."

Sirius scoffed, but obviously couldn't come up with anything to say to that, so turned to James and said, "So Prongs, ol' boy, what's our first plan of action?"

On the other side of the pool, Lily sat chatting with her friends as they performed sun block spells and charms to keep their hair from getting messed up by the pool water.

"Isn't he just adorable, Lily?" Her best friend Susan asked.

"Who?"

Her friends rolled their eyes but Susan answered anyway.

"Sirius Black!"

Lily laughed. "Adorable? More like horrible. But James-," Lily cut herself off at this remark.

_Shite!_ She told herself. _I almost admitted I thought James was cute! Maybe they didn't notice,_ she hoped.

But it seems her friends had noticed as their eyes were wide open and they were staring at Lily as though she had told them Christmas was tomorrow.

"You like James Potter!" They squealed together and immediately began prying Lily for details.

"So what do you think their talking about over there?" James asked to no one in particular.

"Who knows, probably some stupid girl stuff," Sirius said from the ground where he had taken up Remus in a game of Wizard's chess. "Come here and help me Prongs, Moony's kicking my arse again."

Remus smiled. "You're not doing so bad Sirius," he said, only as his knight picked up Sirius's castle and catapulted it off the board. "You're only 12 pieces down."

"AHH!! I give up Moony. Go back to your book and let me wallow in my misery with Prongs."

James however, was not watching the chess match anymore.

"Oi, Prongs, watcha looking at?"

However James apparently couldn't speak, and they soon found out why. He was watching Lily, who was making her way across the pool towards _them._


	3. Chapter 3

Lily's progress was marked by the eyes of the Marauders as she carefully picked her way between chairs and umbrellas to get to them. When she arrived she didn't look her usual tough and cool self, she looked almost shy and sheepish. It stunned all of the marauders into temporary silence. All of them, that is, except Remus.

"Do you need something, Lily?" he asked politely.

"Huh? What? Oh... umm… well… see… I was wondering if I could have a word with James," she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.

This snapped Sirius out of his trance as well and he looked at Lily with a puzzled expression.

"You, Lily Evans, want to speak with Pron- er… James?" he asked incredulously.

Hearing Sirius speak James's real name was almost as awkward as hearing that Lily wanted to talk to him.

Lily rolled her eyes and looked at Sirius.

"Yes _Padfoot_. I want to speak with _James_."

Everyone's head turned to look at James, who was staring numbly up at Lily. Then a huge grin spread across his face.

"Finally admitted I'm irresistible eh Evans?" He said cheekily.

"You prat! Just come with me before I hex you into next week!"

"As you wish milady," James said. He stood up and brushed himself off and followed Lily to a secluded area of chairs near the entrance.

"So…," James was the first to speak once they got there. "You… wanted to see me?"

James was looking at Lily, but Lily was staring at her feet. James thought she looked even more adorable than usual with her hair over her face and a slight blush tinting her cheeks. And her lips looked so kissable…

"Lily, it's ok. You can look at me," he said softly. He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face so she was looking at him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Lily met his eyes for the first time and saw what Remus had been saying. He looked worried, caring. It was odd.

"Y- you called me Lily," she said softly.

James smiled a little. "Well it is your name, isn't it?"

Lily smiled too, but James saw that she looked almost scared, and he wondered why he never saw it before. _Bugger! I've been annoying the crap out of her for the last 4 years and never even realized I was hurting her. Real smooth James._ He thought.

He dropped his hand to his side and thought he saw a flash of regret in Lily's eyes. Before he knew what had hit him, she had flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. At first he was a bit taken aback, but soon he had his arms around her and was kissing her right back. They kissed passionately for a few moments before Lily's eyes shot open and she pulled herself out of James's grasp.

_Holy shite! I just kissed James Potter! And I enjoyed it! _ Her head was spinning and she felt like she was about to faint. She looked over at James and saw the look of utter bewilderment mixed with remorse on his face. _Bugger! Now he's going to think I didn't like his kissing!_

"I- I'm sorry James, I- I shouldn't have kissed you and umm well, see not that it wasn't great or anything or, well I didn't mean for it to happen that way, I had it all planned out and- AHH," for James had taken her up in his arms again and carried her over to a nearby lounger, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He set her down gently and sat down on the chair next to hers.

"It's ok Lily. I understand," He said obviously trying to keep a straight face. "You just can't resist me," By now he had given in and was grinning more than ever.

"Oh that's right, because you're just an irresistible prat who can sweep girls off their feet with one look- mmmm." but she was cut off again when James leant down to kiss her. She pulled him down on to the lounger and enjoyed tangling her hands in his messy jet-black hair. She shut her eyes and wished time would just stop at this moment.

Just then she heard a cough behind them and slowly turned her head to see the rest of the Marauders standing there. Remus and Sirius were both grinning like mad and Peter was hiding behind them with a worried expression on his face.

As usual, Sirius spoke first. "How's that talk going, Prongs?"


	4. Chapter 4

"How's that talk going, Prongs?"

"I would think the answer to that question was rather obvious, Sirius," Remus said with a smirk.

James grinned and looked at Lily to see how she was taking being caught snogging on a lounger. She seemed to be taking it surprisingly well considering the circumstances. Her tough demeanor was back and she was grinning impishly up at the Marauders. James looked over to his friends again and saw Peter looking relieved that Lily wasn't going to kick the crap out of him. Remus was still smirking but Sirius had started to frown.

James grinned even wider and said, "A bit jealous are we, Padfoot? Think you're going to be replaced?"

"What!? No! Of course not!! Evans wouldn't stand a chance at replacing ME! There are none in all of Hogwarts that could rival me!!" He said with mock pride in his voice.

"Rival you at what, Sirius?" Remus asked, obviously trying to out wit him. And a banging good job he seemed to be doing as well.

"Well, you know, at umm… at…" Sirius began.

"Why at getting put down by you of course. Sheesh, Moony, and I thought you were intelligent," James said with a look of utter superiority.

They both began laughing at the sheer disappointment etched on Sirius's face. Even Peter let out a stray chuckle.

"Don't worry Padfoot, you're right, no one can replace you," James said.

"Ha! What did I tell you Moony!! See I told you no one could!!" Sirius yelled.

"Of course you did," Remus said sarcastically. "Now come on Sirius, let's leave these two to their _talk_ shall we?"

"Ay, since it seems their discussing rather important matters indeed, Moony. Farewell Prongs, Evans, enjoy your _talk,_" and with a wink he strolled off to the other side of the pool with Remus. James was about to start where he left off when he realized Peter had not left with Sirius and Remus.

"Um… er… best wishes to you two, er… going out and all. James always talks about how he, er… wanted a umm… girlfriend… and well…" Peter muttered while looking at the ground.

"Yeah yeah, thanks Wormtail. You should go and catch up with Moony and Padfoot. They're probably planning to throw you in the pool you know." James said quickly.

Peter's eyes widened and with speed James didn't know he had, shot across to where Remus and Sirius were sitting talking about something. James shook his head and turned back to Lily.

"Now, where were we?" he asked.

Lily just raised her eyebrow at him.

"What's this about me being your 'girlfriend'?" she asked him.

"Well, umm… aren't you?" he said cautiously.

"You haven't even asked me out yet! How could I possibly be your girlfriend!?" She said a smile slowly creeping across her face.

James sighed and grinned. He quickly got of the lounger and bent down on one knee.

He offered his hand to Lily and said, "Lily Evans, will you be my girlfriend?"

Lily laughed at seeing James down on one knee, but she took his hand.

"James Potter, I would love to," she said.

James grinned from ear to ear. He stood up and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly. When they came up for air, he looked at her and said, "Good."

And with that, she smiled and went to kiss him again. They were jerked back into reality a few moments later when they heard a scream and splash that could only mean James's prediction had come true.

On the other side of the pool, Sirius was laughing hysterically and holding onto Remus for support. Remus was laughing and holding onto a nearby chair so he didn't collapse under Sirius's weight. Peter had resurfaced by now and was thrashing and kicking like mad.

"HELP!! JAMES!! I CAN'T…" but he was cut off as he bobbed underwater again. "…SWIM!! HELP!!" He yelled.

James was laughing, but Lily was looking worried.

"Don't you think we should help him?" She asked James.

James looked at her, still grinning. "He's in the shallow end. It's only 3 feet deep."

He turned back to the screaming Peter and called, "Oi! Wormtail! STAND UP!!"

At hearing this, Sirius had started laughing even harder, and Remus, not up to holding that much weight, lost hold of the chair. The two collapsed into a hysterical heap on the cement. Peter, who had realized by now, he could in fact stand up, was blushing bright red and making his way to the steps.

James turned to Lily who was now chuckling as well.

"Welcome to the Marauders milady," he said and did a sweeping bow to Lily. "You're in for the ride of your life."


	5. Chapter 5

"Ahh… another successful day for the Marauders…" Sirius said as he, James, Lily and Remus made their way down James's street. (Peter was visiting some relatives for the weekend)

Lily snorted. "All you managed to do was chat up some muggle and get pizza sauce all over your face. How is that a success?"

James and Remus laughed but Sirius looked dumbstruck.

"How is that a success? How is that NOT a success?!" he asked in awe. "I got to talk to a hot girl-"

"Who you'll never see again," Lily interrupted.

"And get brilliant pizza!" Sirius finished. "And _that_, is completely beside the point."

Remus shook his head in amusement. Lily had been an official Marauder for no more than two weeks, and every time they went out, she and Sirius fought about something. Most of the time this consisted of Lily patronizing Sirius and Sirius attempting to come up with some sort of witty comeback… and always failing miserably.

"Hey James, are we still on for film night?" Remus asked, more to stop the oncoming argument than anything.

James shrugged. "Sure if you guys still want to."

"Course we do Prongs! It's tradition!" Sirius shouted, completely forgetting his argument with Lily. "C'mon Moony, I'll race you back to James'!" And with that he took off running towards a house near the end of the street.

Remus sighed but sprinted after him anyway, quickly overtaking him a few houses down.

James seized the opportunity to take Lily in his arms and kiss her.

She happily replied, but after a few more moments looked up at James.

"So what's film night?" she asked.

Lily could see James turning a bit red.

"Well it's just this thing we've been doing for… well… forever… where we watch a muggle film and eat sweets and stuff… You can come if you want." James sounded hopeful.

"I'd love to come!" she said. "What film are you guys watching?"

"Dunno… It's Sirius's turn to pick…"

"NO," Remus said from his seat on the couch in James's living room. "Absolutely not."

"Awww… c'mon Moony… please!!" Sirius said, hugging the video to his chest, and hopping up and down.

"We are NOT watching 'An American Werewolf in London', and you do know you look like an idiot, right?"

Sirius stopped hopping and walked over to Remus.

"Please Moony, for me?" He said, making his eyes as wide as possible and sticking out his lower lip in a pathetic looking pout.

"You know Sirius, puppy dog eyes only work when you're actually a dog." Remus said sarcastically. But he seemed to be trying with all his might not to look at Sirius.

Sirius's eyes seemed to light up and an evil grin spread slowly across his face.

Remus noticed.

"Oh crap…" Remus slowly began edging his way towards the door. "No Sirius, don't even think about it… If someone walks in…"

But it was too late. Sirius dropped the movie and leapt at Remus, transforming into his animagus form mid-jump. He knocked him clean off his feet and commenced to drown Remus's face in doggie slobber.

"Blech… gross Sirius! C'mon, get off me!! GET OFF!!" Remus shouted. But Sirius just sat down on his chest, made his eyes as wide as possible, and stared down at him.

"I'll get you for this…"


	6. Chapter 6

When James and Lily walked in to the living room, they were greeted by quite a sight. Remus was lying on the ground, a huge, furry black dog sitting happily on his chest.

James, seeing it for what it was, started cracking up and had to hold onto a nearby table for support. Lily on the other hand, gasped, and rushed over to pet the dog.

"Oh, he's such a cutie!" She cooed, as she scratched behind his ears. "Isn't he Remus?"

"Oh yes… a cutie indeed…" He said with a pained look.

Sirius had jumped off Remus and rolled onto his back so Lily could scratch his belly.

"What's his name?" she asked.

A mischievous gleam lit up Remus's eyes before he said, "Snuffles. His name is Snuffles."

Sirius whipped his head around and growled at Remus, but Remus just smiled evilly at him and began to pick himself up off the ground.

James was now sitting in the doorway, head in his hands, shaking with hysterical laughter.

Lily was still scratching Sirius's belly. "Yes… you like that don't you?" she said.

_Oh that is so wrong…_ Remus thought to himself as he plopped back down on the couch.

"So whose dog is he anyway?" Lily asked.

"Uhh… umm… he's…." Remus began.

Luckily, James had gained enough control to cut in. "He's my Aunt's. They went on vacation to umm… Bora Bora… and we're just taking care of him. Actually, he probably needs to go to bed now. Isn't that right Snuffles?"

Sirius, who was obviously enjoying himself, just growled at James and continued to let Lily pet him.

"It's ok James, I don't mind," she said. "He seems sweet!"

"No no, he really needs to be getting home." James stood up and grabbed Sirius around the neck.

"C'mon now _Snuffles_. Let's… go…" He said, struggling to push him towards the door.

Remus was chuckling to himself on the couch when Lily looked up and noticed Sirius was missing.

"Where'd Sirius go anyway?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"He just… umm… went to the bathroom. He'll be right back." Remus said quickly.

"Oh, alright then."

James returned a few minutes later looking extremely tousled.

"Good gracious, what happened to you?" Lily looked a bit worried.

"Snuffles was a little reluctant to go to bed." James said, scowling at the back door.

Remus let out a bark of laughter before James glared at him.

"So! What'd I miss?" Sirius strolled into the room a few seconds later, a huge grin plastered on his face.

James looked murderous, but Lily just smiled.

"We were just playing with James's Aunt's dog, Snuffles." She said. "He's such a sweetie."

James gave Sirius a look that clearly said _Don't even think about it!_ , then went to go sit by Remus on the couch.

Not noticing the look, Lily stood up and picked up the dropped video.

"'An American Werewolf in London'? Is that what we're watching?" She looked up at Sirius.

"NO!" Remus shouted.

But Sirius just grinned even wider and winked at Remus. He turned back to Lily.

"You betcha!" he said, and popped the video into the Television.

A half an hour later, Sirius was already fed up.

"What kind of movie is this?!" he exclaimed. "That guy doesn't look anything like a werewolf!"

Remus sighed and took another bite of his Honeyduke's chocolate bar.

Lily tried to explain. "They're muggles, remember Sirius? They don't really know what werewolves look like because they don't think they actually exist!"

"But of course they do!" Sirius shouted.

"But the muggles don't know that!" Lily said exasperatedly.

"Stupid muggle movie…" Sirius muttered.

"Now you know why I didn't want to watch it, Sirius." Remus was looking a little pale.

James was watching his friends with an amused expression. He knew that wasn't the real reason why Remus didn't like this movie, but he couldn't say anything in front of Lily.

"But you can't deny it, Moony! You know it pisses you off!" said Sirius.

"What pisses me off is the fact that you made me sit through this movie, but I suppose you're right. It does make me mad that they completely messed up everything about the werewolf. They are seriously misunderstood creatures in my mind." Remus took another bite of chocolate.

Lily looked sympathetically up at Remus. "You seem to know a lot about them. Do you study them or something?" she asked.

But before he could reply, Sirius had a sudden coughing fit and didn't stop until James shoved a chocolate frog in his mouth.

Remus, if possible, seemed to go even paler. He couldn't meet Lily's eyes.

"Or something…"


	7. Chapter 7

**I just want to thank everyone who has commented on this story so far. I apologize for my chapters begin short, however I just like them that way. They might get longer coming up when they go to the beach house. **

**Right so a couple things i want to say. First off, i apprecaite all those who comment/have commented on this story. I appreciate the reviews immensely. Also, i am so glad that you guys like this story enough to add it to your favorites or alert lists. However i please ask that if you do, LEAVE A COMMENT!!! it annoys me to no end that you favorite my story but don't tell me why you like it. PLEASE REVIEW!! I greatly appreciate it. And who knows, it might make me update faster... :D**

**Disclaimer: the characters in this story belong to J.K. Rowling. always have, always will... for those of you who might have noticed that my other chapters don't have disclaimers, i assume you know that these characters were orignially created and belong to the wonderful Jo. so please, don't sue me... i have no money... anyway... enjoy the chapter...**

* * *

Chapter 7

It was 7:00 A.M. the morning of the full moon, and Lily Evans was sleeping soundly. She had stayed up quite late the previous night and had been happily looking forward to sleeping in until noon. Unfortunately for her, James had different thoughts on the matter.

So at 7:00 that morning, Lily awoke to the sound of a mad tapping at her window.

Deciding it best to ignore it, she just grunted and pulled the covers up farther over her head.

The tapping persisted for a good 10 minutes more before suddenly, after a particular loud rap on the window, it stopped.

_Thank Merlin._ Lily thought. _Now I can go back to sleep._

But after a few moments she realized there was no way she was going to fall asleep again. She decided to go and see if the mysterious tapper left any clue to their identity.

She pushed off the covers and groggily made her way to the window. She expected to see a note, or a flower, or anything that might explain why some prat was knocking on her window at 7:00 A.M.

Instead she was very surprised to see James' barn owl, Zonko, passed out on the window sill. Apparently after 20 minutes of straight tapping, it got dizzy and fainted.

Lily quickly opened the window and scooped up the owl. After untying the letter from his leg, she placed him in her own owl cage, where her snowy owl Scout, was asleep with her head under her wing.

She made sure the owls had water and put some treats in the cage, then hurriedly walked back to where she had put the letter.

She felt the familiar swoop in her stomach as she opened it, and it only increased as she read James's untidy scrawl.

Lily Dearest,

It has been a marauder tradition for the past four years to spend a weekend at my vacation home at the beach. And, unfortunately enough for us, the past four years have included adult accompaniment. However, seeing as we will soon be 6th years, my parents decided we were mature enough (ha ha yeah right…) to go on our own. Therefore, considering the fact you are now an official marauder, you are hereby cordially invited to join in the marauder-fest this summer. It will take place next weekend and we will be flooing in from my house. We would be leaving this weekend, however, dear Remus has fallen ill and cannot make the trip. So we shall be waiting a week and hopefully by next weekend, Moony will be feeling much better.

Also, my parents have gone shopping today in the city and said that I can invite some friends over for a "little get-together" to be precise. However, they request the house be in one piece upon their return. So I was wondering, if perhaps you would enjoy spending the day with me (Padfoot and Wormtail decided to keep Moony company for a while). If you do decide to join me, you can take the knight bus here for as little as 2 sickles. Please send Zonko back with your reply.

Love and Kisses,

James

Lily giggled.

_So formal. If only he was like that in person!_ She thought.

She quickly pulled out a quill and scribbled out a reply on the back of the letter.

When she was finished, she folded up the letter and half ran, half tripped over to her owl cage.

Zonko was still passed out on the bottom.

Lily chuckled.

_Poor owl_. She thought to herself._ It didn't want to get up at 7:00 A.M. either!_

She poked him a bit and tried to wake him up, but he was out cold.

By now Scout had woken up and was looking curiously at the new addition to her home. She hooted softly and nipped Lily's finger affectionately.

"Scout!" she yelped, a little surprised. "Good your awake! I need you to take this letter to James and come right back ok?"

Scout hooted in reply and stuck out her leg for Lily to tie the letter on. Then she flew down from her perch to land on Lily's arm and let her carry her to the window. She took off flying East into the rising sun.

After watching her owl disappear into the distance, she shut the window and went to look in the mirror.

Her crimson hair was a mess, sticking up at all odd angles.

"Oh I look lovely don't I?" she asked to the room.

"Not particularly deary." Her reflection responded in an amused tone.

She glared at the mirror before gathering some clothes and heading off to the shower.

* * *

James stood in his room pacing.

He had sent Zonko to Lily's house over an hour ago and still no reply. Had his owl gotten hurt? Was Lily ok? Did something happen?

He glanced out the window again. He could just hear Sirius's voice in his head.

_Yes I'm sure that Lily has been captured by a pack of rabid squirrels and is being held hostage in a tree in her backyard. _Sirius's voice said. _You should go rescue her! Show those squirrels that you never mess with James Potter's girl!_

The voice was teasing, but it sounded pretty convincing to James. He was just about to go and call the knight bus when he heard a tapping at his window. He whipped around to see Lily's snowy owl Scout standing on the sill, a letter tied to her leg.

He wrenched open the window and, much to the dismay of Scout, seized the letter which was still attached to her leg., thus turning the owl upside-down and causing her to flap madly about.

James immediately released her, realizing what he had done, but not before he had detached the letter.

Scout commenced to peck angrily at him for a few moments before landing on the windowsill again looking extremely ruffled.

James, who was now rubbing his sore head, sat down at his desk to read the letter.

He smiled at the sight of Lily's neat loopy letters.

Dear James,

I would love to spend the day with you! I can probably be over there in an hour or so.

And I would gladly join in the "marauder-fest" as you put, I just have to check with my mum. I'll let you know what she says when I see you.

Much Love.

Lily

He just sat there grinning madly for a moment, before noticing Scout, who was pecking at the window, obviously trying to get out.

James walked over and unlatched the window. He watched the owl fly into the distance before he realized that Lily would be here in less than an hour.

He dashed over to the mirror and looked at himself.

His hair was even more ruffled than usual and he was still in his pajamas.

"Bloody hell I look like crap…" he said.

"You got that right!" his reflection shouted at him. "Now comb that hair!"

"Will you shut up about my hair you ruddy reflection! You know it never stays down!" He glared at the mirror for a minute before grabbing some clean clothes from the wardrobe.

He only had about a half an hour until Lily arrived and he still needed to take a shower and clean his room.

_Well., _he thought, looking around his room, which was strewn with clothes, candy wrappers, and random bits of parchment. _We better get started then._

* * *

**right okay i know what some of you are thinking... becuase i've had some questions about it before... doesn't Lily realize the Remus is sick on the full moon? mmkay.. i assume that Lily has not memorized the moon schedule and has therefore not realized the conncection... however in upcoming chapters she will start to grow supsicious and begin questioning the poor marauders... also... i'm going to skip over Lily and James's day at home, just becasue i'm not very good at writing romantic scenes. However if you guys really want to read it, i will write it as an outtake later on when i have time. Let me know if you want it. But after this, it will skip to when they leave for the beach. Also, after the summer is over, this fic will end. But i plan on making a continuation of their time back at school. Updates may become far and fewer between though, because school starts in about a week and im gonna get loads of work to do. i should have the next chapters up fairly quickly as i hope to get them written within the week. Please don't badger me about updates though, i'm doing the best I can. so now that you've read my extremely long author's note (and i apologize) REVIEW OR DIE!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**oh my gosh thanks so much you guys.. apparently death threats work on because i've gotten more reviews than any other chapter... i really appreciate it and to reward you, i've got the next chapter up!! right... so it's a bit rough and probably needs editing.. but tell me what you think anyway.. enjoy!!**

**many thanks to the following people who have reviewed every chapter or close to every chapter so far: **_ginnyweasleyssis2402, LadyKnightSusan, and pinkfreak411_

**also.. to LadyKnightSusan,** **i have recruited the help of my friend for the outtake scene of Lily and James at home, so i hope in no longer than a week, i'll have that up for you. It's not my top priority right now, but it's definitely in progress. Hope you like it when we're finished!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Lily Evans stood at the doorway to James's house surveying the chaos before her.

Remus and Peter had arrived shortly after Lily, their bags and such abandoned in the hallway. They were now in the parlor arguing over who would get which room.

Apparently, with the addition of Lily, the need to share rooms was necessary. From what she knew, it was a two bedroom house. Her mother said she was allowed to go as long as she gave her word not to share a bedroom with James. Lily had just rolled her eyes and agreed at the time, but now that she thought about it, her mother would never know if she and James actually did share a room.

_Holy shite! _Lily realized what she was thinking about and quickly tried to get it out of her head. She tuned back into the arguing marauders in the parlor.

"I don't wanna have to sleep on the floor, James!" Peter whined. "Why can't Sirius just sleep out on the couch!"

James looked about ready to hex someone.

"Why don't YOU just sleep on the couch Wormtail!!" James shouted.

Peter sputtered for a moment before humphing loudly and waddling back down the hall.

Remus was sitting standing passively next to James. Lily didn't think he'd spoken a word since he'd arrived. In fact, now that she thought about it, he didn't look all that great. He was very pale, and his face and neck were covered in scars. James had said he'd been ill, but it didn't explain the scars…

She was about to ask about it when she heard a whooshing sound from the side of the parlor. She whipped around just in time to see a soot-covered Sirius shoot out of the fire place, knocking a startled Remus clean off his feet.

James began laughing hysterically as Remus and Sirius attempted to disentangle themselves.

"Brilliant entrance Padfoot!" he jeered at him. "The flying floo! Never seen a better example in my li-"

But James was cut off as Sirius's trunk came hurtling out of the fire place straight into him, knocking him back onto his friends who had just managed to stand up.

Lily couldn't help but giggle as James and Remus started hexing every inch of Sirius they could find.

When all of the spells and soot finally cleared, Lily caught her first glance of Sirius since his entrance. His clothes had been charmed to insult him at every opportunity, shouting at him as he walked. He looked as if he'd been hit with Rictusempra, as he was clutching his stomach and his face was flushed red. Apparently however, this wasn't enough for Remus and James, as when she looked up at him, she saw that his hair had been turned to a brilliant shade of hot pink.

He was walking dizzily toward where Lily was standing, and as soon as he seemed to regain his balance, James and Remus sent his trunk flying towards his back, knocking him flat onto his face.

All in all it was quite a crazy sight. Peter re-entered the room only to run out again when he saw the spells being fired everywhere. For Sirius had pushed off his trunk and pulled out his wand and James, Remus and him were now in a full-out battle in the parlor.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter entered just in time to see Remus dive behind Sirius's trunk in an effort to dodge what looked like a stinging hex. They looked around in wonder for a minute or two before Mr. Potter grinned and pulled out his wand.

"Expelliarmus Totallus!" he shouted, and the wands of James, Sirius, and Remus flew out of their hands and into his own.

Confused, they looked up and seeing the Potters in the doorway, 3 sets of eyes widened in recognition.

Mr. Potter just smiled. Apparently this was a normal occurrence in the Potter household.

"Now boys, what did I tell you about wizard wars?" he asked.

They rolled their eyes at each other before responding simultaneously, "Keep it to the back yard."

"That's right." He waved his wand again and sent the Marauder's own wands flying back to them.

"Now, you better get going," He glanced over at the doorway and spotted Lily standing there. "Ah! Miss Evans! A pleasure to see you again!" he exclaimed.

Lily smiled politely. "And you Mr. Potter."

Mr. and Mrs. Potter beamed at each other for a moment, obviously ecstatic at James's choice in a girlfriend, before Mrs. Potter spoke up.

"Now you promise to be careful, James?" she asked, the suspected mother worry in her voice.

James just rolled his eyes as Sirius and Remus snickered.

"Yes mum, and I promise to drop in on Saturday so you can make sure we're all in one piece and I promise not to attempt to dismantle the SSS." He drawled off in a monotone.

Remus and Sirius were laughing outright now, and Lily was just about to ask what SSS was, when Peter shuffled back in.

"Ah! Peter m'boy! Excited about your trip?" Mr. Potter slapped a terrified looking Peter on the back.

He sputtered on the spot for a moment, obviously trying to find words, before passing out cold on the floor.

Mr. Potter looked horrorstruck, obviously believing his pat on the back to have knocked him out cold. James, Remus and Sirius however, knew better.

James and Sirius ran to the kitchen, wands outstretched, as Remus attempted to revive Peter. Lily, realizing something must be wrong, yanked out her wand and ran to where James and Sirius had disappeared. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had run into the kitchen after them. She was about to enter the kitchen herself when a hand closed around her wrist. She whipped around and saw that it was only Remus's. She relaxed a little before seeing the look on his face. Remus wasn't one to let his emotions show freely, but Lily could see it in his eyes. It was a look of pure terror.

Slowly, she turned back around to look in the kitchen, Remus's hand still closed on her wrist. But before she could see inside, a blood-curdling scream erupted through the house.

Lily froze on the spot. She knew the scream belonged to Mrs. Potter, and that she should try to help, but she couldn't seem to move. Her whole body seemed to clamp up and go cold. Her vision was starting to blur, and she knew soon she wouldn't be able to see anything at all.

But she was jerked back into reality by the sound of James's voice in her ear. Slowly, she became aware that he was holding her up by the shoulders and steering her in the direction of the fireplace. She soon realized what he was doing and jerked out of his grasp.

"No! I'm not leaving! I want to help!" she screamed. But James just shook his head.

"You can't stay here. I don't have time to explain. Just go to the beach house with Remus and I'll there as soon as I can!" He sounded quite desperate, but Lily always had been stubborn.

She shook her head fiercely. "I won't leave you, James. I can fight!"

She noticed that Remus had appeared behind James holding hers and his own bags, wand held firmly in his hand. The look of terror was gone, replaced by something deeper, more sincere. Lily couldn't place it though…

James noticed Remus a moment later.

"Alright Remus, take Lily and go! Don't come back unless I send word!" Remus nodded and with that James kissed Lily quickly on the lips before sprinting back to the kitchen.

Lily was about to dash after him, but Remus grabbed her arm in a surprisingly strong grasp, considering how ill he looked.

"You heard what he said Lily. We can't stay here. Now come on. He'll be alright." Remus was attempting to pull her towards the fireplace.

Lily tried desperately to yank her arm out of his grasp, but he was too strong. She felt herself being pulled into the fireplace, Remus right behind her, his hand full of floo powder. With one last glance towards the kitchen, he turned back to Lily and threw down the powder.

"Pot of Gold!"

* * *

**YESS!!! okay.. i'm sorry.. i just couldn't resist putting some action in here... i mean.. they're in the middle of war!! it had to come up sooner or later!!! and i apologize for being cliffhanger obsessed... i cant help it... its a disease i tell you... anyway.. i hope you like this chapter... i write much better i think when i can write about Remus and Sirius.. i love them to death... anywho... tell me what you think of this chapter... remember, no favoriting or alerting without reviewing please!!! and now, because it worked so well last time.. REVIEW OR DIE!!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**What's this I hear? a new chapter? AHH!! i can hear you all screaming now.. anyway... as i know i've said many a time by now... i have started super-de-duper advanced smarty pants school... (no im not trying to brag.. i'm just trying to imply to you all that i get A LOT OF HOMEWORK!!!) therefore... updates will take me longer... now then.. onwards... in other news.. i have totally gotten my brother hooked on fanfiction.. i feel very accomplished and you all should congratulate me on accomplishing such a feat... also... i can no longer feel my arms as i had to carry home 8 different textbooks today... really it's true... it's taking me forever to type this... so, this will only impede my further updates... right... anywho... i think that's all i need to tell you.. thanks to all of you who reviewed last chapter!! you all get a virtual cookie and a pat on the head!! now on to the chapter!!!**

**disclaimer: all characters belong to Jo...**

* * *

Chapter 9

Lily felt herself spinning wildly, Remus's hand still closed firmly on her wrist, before being thrown out onto a sandy hearth rug. A minute later, their bags shot out of the fireplace and landed on a nearby sofa.

She heard Remus groan next to her, and saw that he had hit his head coming out of the fireplace. She quickly pulled out her wand and muttered a quick healing spell before pushing herself up off the ground. She offered a hand to Remus and helped him stand up. They both went to sit on the sofa.

After a few more minutes of silence, Lily couldn't take it anymore.

"What the hell happened there, Remus?!" she practically yelled at him.

Remus grimaced, obviously hoping to wait and let James explain it.

He slowly looked up to look at Lily. She had put on her fiercest, most demanding look and was glaring down at him.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead before standing up and lighting some of the lanterns with his wand. For the first time, Lily got a look at where they were.

They appeared to be in the sitting room of a quaint little cottage. There was a large bay window on her right, through which she could see the shore. To her left was a small kitchen and behind her, a hallway, down which she assumed were the bedrooms. However Lily really couldn't care less where she was. She just wanted someone to tell her what was going on.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to Lily, Remus sat back down, tucking his wand away into his bag. He looked up at Lily again, and it hit her.

_Sorrow_. She thought. _That's what I saw. Sorrow._

And she felt a pang of sympathy for him, though she didn't know why. What was so awful in Remus's life to make him look like that? And why couldn't he stay and fight with James and Sirius and Peter? He's a great fighter. And what was he sick with that gave him all those scars? What he was sick with last weekend…. On the full moon…

Lily gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth.

_That's it! He's a werewolf! It would explain everything! Except…_

"Why'd we have to leave, Remus?" she spoke softly this time.

Remus, who had been studying his feet for the last few minutes, slowly looked up.

"Because those were Death Eaters. At least a half a dozen of them. And you're a muggle-born and I'm…" he trailed off.

"… a werewolf." Lily finished for him.

Remus looked part astounded and part sad. But it was soon replaced by a look of acceptance. Melancholy yes, but acceptance none the less.

Lily realized how he must feel. The way people reject his kind. And her kind for that matter. He obviously thought Lily would reject him like everyone else. But she wasn't like that. Shouldn't he know that?

"Remus, it's no big deal. Really." Lily said.

Remus snorted. "No big deal? Lily I'm a werewolf! I was the reason those Death Eaters attacked James's house. It's all my fault. I- I'm a monster!" he shouted.

"No." Lily said firmly. "You're not. And it's as much my fault as yours."

Remus shook his head, but looked a little heartened none the less.

"Do- do the rest of them know?" she asked.

Remus nodded, and Lily thought she saw him smile a little. She was about to inquire further when she heard a bang and James, Sirius, and Peter flew out of the fireplace, closely followed by their bags, all landing in a heap on the rug.

James was the first one up. He dashed over to Lily first.

"Are you okay? None of them followed you right? You're not hurt at all?" he asked frantically, eyes scanning her body for injuries.

Lily laughed a little at him. "I'm fine!" she said, pushing him away a bit. "And what happened to mister calm?"

"He left when you did."

She turned to look at Sirius and Peter, who were looking a bit worse for the wear. Peter's shirt was ripped and Sirius had a long gash across his forehead, but both of them were beaming. Sirius reached up to wipe the blood from his forehead before turning to Remus.

Lily thought she saw an almost loving look pass over his eyes before he reached out and embraced Remus like a brother. She couldn't help but smile at them.

She turned back to James and saw that he too was watching his friends. He had a large cut on his cheek and was covered in soot from head to toe, but Lily still thought he looked marvelous. She leaned in for a kiss, and startled James a bit. But soon he was kissing her right back.

Remus nudged Sirius and pointed to Lily and James. The both sniggered for a moment before Sirius's eyes flashed with mischeif. He looked over at Remus, grinning. Remus eyes got wide and he began to shake his head frantically at Sirius. But Sirius just turned back to Lily and James, still grinning, and transforming into his animagus form, pounced headlong at James.

"BLOODY HELL, SIRIUS!!" James yelled, and pushed the dog away. He looked furious.

Lily just looked puzzled.

"Sirius? I thought it was your aunt's dog? And what's it doing here anyway? They're not still in Bora Bora?" Lily looked around at the marauders. She scanned the spot where Sirius had just been standing. He didn't seem to be there.

_He couldn't have just disspaered! Could he?_

Neither James, Remus nor Peter would meet Lily's eyes, as they all seemed to find the carpet very interesting all of a sudden. The dog had bounded over to Remus and was trying to jump up and lick his face.

Lily walked over to it. She looked down at the dog, with it's tongue hanging out the side of it's mouth, and it's eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Sirius?" she asked cautiously.

The dog barked in reply, and much to Lily's surprise, suddenly transformed back into a man she knew quite well.

"'Ello Evans!"

* * *

**yes!! i know you all were waiting for this moment.. well its finally here!! how will Lily react? who knows! you'll just have to wait and see... by the by.. reviews will speed up my updates.. so yeah.. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I BEG OF YOU!!! hope you guys liked this one.. tell me if you liked my idea of how Lily found out... please tell me if you think anyone is OOC... and just in case you're wondering.. no... i don't ship Remus/Sirius... i'm not a huge slash person.. although i do think they have a closer relationship than portrayed in the books... i mean.. they had to have been pretty close for the way they reacted in PoA.. so yeah.. that's just my take on it.. tell me how you like it please!!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**YAY!! an update!! im am sorry to say that this will be the last chapter in the summer saga of the maruaders... however.. fear not fellow readers! for their sotry continues!! but i mean really.. summer cant last forever now can it? the next story shall be about what happens when they return to school.. and as i have not yet come up with a creative title, i can tell you what it will be called! so just keep an eye out for a new story.. also, if any of you were waiting on Lily and James day at home, i should be getting a copy to revise from my dear friend soon... so that should be up by the end of the month i hope.. again.. thanks so much to all who reviewed last chapter! you make writing this story worth my while!! and thanks to the few of you who review every chapter! it means a lot! so now, i shall let you all get on with the stroy!! enjoy the last chapter of Summer With the Maruaders!!**

**disclaimer: all characters belong to Jo...**

"'Ello Evans!"

Lily stared, dumfounded, at the grinning face of Sirius Black, who was still sitting at Remus's feet.

Sirius though, was the only one still grinning. James was looking apprehensive, as if just waiting for Lily to storm out of the house. Remus's eyes were wide open, and he was slowly looking back and forth between Lily and Sirius. Peter looked scared out of his mind.

Still grinning, Sirius looked around at his friends. Soon realizing the enormity of what he had done though, his smile vanished. Carefully, he looked back up at Lily.

"Ummm…. Evans?" Sirius asked quietly.

But Lily just ignored him, and walked straight to James.

"Er… Hullo, Love," James said, trying to smile.

Slowly, Lily started to lean forward. James thought for one fleeting moment she was going to kiss him, but it fleeted right by as she reached up and slapped him hard across the face.

"HOW DARE YOU LIE ABOUT THIS TO ME!" She shouted, her screams echoing through the empty house. "YOU JUST FIGURED THAT THERE WAS NO NEED TO TELL ME YOUR BEST MATE WAS AN ILLEGAL ANIMAGUS!"

James hung his head, obviously ashamed.

"Lily, please, let me explain," Remus started.

"NO!" I want James to explain!" Lily stared fiercely at James, who slowly lifted his head up.

"Well… it's a bit of a long story, so we might as well sit down," he said, and walked over to the couch.

After everyone was seated, James, Sirius, and Peter on the couch, Remus sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Lily sitting as far away as possible from everyone, James began.

"Well it all started in our first year at Hogwarts. You know, innocent, care-free, ickle firsties."

Sirius snorted, and Remus smiled a bit. Lily was still scowling.

James continued. "Anyway, we all met on the train. Me and Sirius first, then Remus came stumbling in, real banged up and all. We figured one of the Slytherins beat him up or something. So we took pity on the poor chap and invited him to sit with us."

Lily shook her head. _Arrogant much?_ She thought to herself.

She glanced over at Remus. He still had that sad smile.

"Then Peter came dashing down the hallway, two fifth years chasing him. So we grabbed him and pulled him into our compartment. So we talked some and me and Padfoot spared some sickles so Moony and Wormtail could get something off the trolley. And that Milady, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes at each other before James started again.

"Well the first week went as well as expected. Moony got top marks in everything, me and Padfoot excelling in transfiguration, and Wormtail, well, Peter just sucked."

"Wait a minute… If you and Sirius are so good at transfiguration, then why does McGonnagal hate you two so much?" Lily interjected.

"SHHH!! Evans you're getting ahead of the story!" said Sirius.

Lily rolled her eyes but let James continue.

"So like I said, the first few weeks went fine. But then at the end of the month, Moony disappeared. No warning, no excuse, just vanished. Well of course, as his friends, we we're curious beyond belief as to where dear Moony had gone. So when he returned we questioned him immediately. He told us his mother was ill and that he just went to visit her, a valid excuse if any."

"A load of shite if any…" Sirius muttered, before Remus shot him a warning look.

"So this continued for a while, everything going well, then Remus disappearing at the end of the month and showing up again covered in scars, and looking like he just had a rather horrible bout of flu. So as you may have guessed, we grew rather suspicious of our fickle friend. So one day, we cornered him in the common room and demanded he tell us what his issue was."

"Actually," Remus cut in. "That would be incorrect. By the time you three cornered me in the common room, you had already figured out my secret."

James let out a stray 'humph' before returning to the story.

"At any rate, we knew at that point that Moony was a werewolf."

Immediately Peter, James, and Sirius turned to look at Lily.

Remus sighed. "Don't worry guys, she already knows… What? She figured it out!" he said in response to the shocked expressions on their faces.

"I'm smarter than you think, James," Lily said, shooting mean glance in his direction.

He grinned bashfully back at her.

"Oi, lovebird!" Sirius whacked James on the back of his head. "Get on with the story!"

"Huh? What? Oh yeah…" James said, absentmindedly rubbing the spot where Sirius whacked him. "The story… Well however it happened, we know knew that Moony was a werewolf. Well Sirius though it was awesome, Peter was scared out of his wits and immediately took cover behind the nearest chair, and I didn't have a preference either way."

Remus scoffed.

"No, because the jumping up and down and asking if I had ever bitten anyone definitely displayed an air of indifference." He said sarcastically.

James glared at him.

"Oh shut it Moony… On with the story! Right so after we had pulled Peter from underneath the sofa and dragged him up to the dormitory, we reached a unanimous conclusion."

"With the exception of me, who didn't get a vote," Remus put in.

"WOULD YOU STOP INTERRUPTING MOONY! MERLIN!" Sirius yelled, causing everyone to jump a few feet into the air, Peter falling off the couch completely.

Sirius reached down and pulled him back up by the back of his robes and turned to James.

"Prongs, continue."

"Err… alright… well like I said, we reached a unanimous conclusion that we couldn't leave our dear friend to fight it out with the moon alone, therefore seeing the need to become animagi."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Lily held her hands up to stop James. "How does being animagi help Remus on a full moon?" She asked.

Remus spoke up.

"Werewolves don't harm animals, just humans. As long as they stayed in their animagus forms during full moons, I couldn't cause any injuries to them. And they're presence seemed to take the edge of transformations. My mind seemed to become less wolfish when Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs came to play with me." He said softly.

Lily nodded in understanding and gestured for James to carry on.

"Thank you Remus. So, as you can probably guess, we started studying to become animagi. It was mostly me and Sirius, Wormtail not being too advanced in transfiguration. So finally after almost 4 years of studying, we actually pulled it off. We were all animagi. Wormtail a rat, Sirius a dog, and me a stag."

Lily's eyes got wide all of a sudden.

"Wait a sec, you're _all_ animagi? Not just Sirius?"

They all nodded.

"C- can I see?" she asked quietly.

James, Sirius and Remus exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

"Sure love…" James said, a hint of his usual grin back.

And without warning, and with a faint _pop!_ Lily was staring at the animagus forms of James, Sirius, and Peter.

Lily gasped. Where Peter just sat, there was a small, common looking rat. His nose twitched fearfully as Lily studied him.

_It suits him…_ she thought.

Her gaze fell to the left, where an enormous black dog sat, panting happily. Lily could see Sirius in those eyes…

And then, as she turned her head again, she saw him. A beautiful golden stag, standing next to Remus. She slowly walked over to it. Remus had stood up and was scratching behind its ears. He looked up and saw Lily standing there, her eyes shining.

"It's okay Lily, you can pet him. It's still James in there… and I daresay you're not afraid to touch him…" Remus said with a smirk on his face.

Lily smiled slightly before reaching out to touch the stag. It nuzzled close to her, and Lily happily petted him in reply. It looked up at her, and she swore it had James's eyes.

"You can see now how we got our names." Remus said. Peter is Wormtail, Sirius Padfoot, James prongs, and me… Moony…" he said, the smirk of a few mintues ago replaced with his usual sad smile. "It's uncanny how much they can remind you of them huh?" Remus asked.

"Yeah…" Lily agreed.

After much more petting, and a few rousing games of "fetch wormtail" James, Sirius, and Peter all turned back into themselves with a faint _pop!._ They were all grinning.

"So whatca think eh, Evans? Pretty impressive huh?'' Sirius excitedly.

But Lily ignored him yet again to walk over to James.

James looked ready to duck as Lily leaned in, obviously expecting another slap, and was happily surprised when her lips met his. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight while Remus and Sirius sniggered in the background.

After what seemed to Remus to be a long while, Sirius intervened,

"For Merlin's sake you two! There's plenty of empty bedrooms down the hall, but please, spare me and Moony the horror of this snog-fest!" he shouted.

Lily detached herself from James, and was happy to see that his marauder grin was back.

"C'mon Moony, let's leave these two to themselves. I'm sure they have a lot to _talk_ about…" Sirius said with a grin.

Remus grinned back at him and just as Peter was about to speak, they both grabbed him by the arms and led him out the back door. Lily could see them through the big bay window. They were rushing down to the water, Peter in hand, and preparing to throw him in.

Lily giggled to herself as Peter struggled to escape the stronger grasps of his friends. It was a useless effort. She could hear him scream as he flew through the air and into the breaking waves.

James let out a bark of laughter before turning to Lily again.

"C'mon, the whole day's going to waste. I think I'm up for a nice lie on the beach." He said with a smile.

Lily was about to answer with a flirtatious reply when she remembered something.

"James! Your parents! Are they okay?" She asked quickly. She had completely forgotten about the attack at the house what with James's story.

James looked relieved that Lily hadn't remembered something else to be mad about.

"Oh yeah! Don't worry they're fine. We helped them stun all the Death Eaters before Mum tied them up and locked them in the downstairs cupboard. They weren't very well trained… Well anyway, Dad was calling the ministry just as we left."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at the thought of James's mother shaking a finger at 6 Death Eaters tied up in a linen closet.

James gave a lopsided grin before saying, "Now really! We're wasting precious beach time here!"

Lily grinned. "Alright, alright! Let's go then!"

* * *

Two days later, and the Death Eater and illegal animagus issues seemed like they happened years ago. The sun was shining, and the Marauders were happy to spend their last day of summer vacation at the beach.

James and Sirius had gone straight for the water to surf, a hollering Peter in tow, and Lily and Remus had set out to build a sandcastle.

They had just started working on the turrets when Sirius and James came running up. Peter had apparently long exited the water and was sprawled out on the sand, thoroughly exhausted.

"Moony, I demand that you get in the water this _instant!_" Sirius said, pulling Remus up by the arm, and trying to pull him towards the water.

Remus yanked back his arm.

"NO! I don't want to." He said fiercely, and plopped back down next to Lily.

James and Sirius exchanged a skeptical glance before each grabbing Remus by an arm and a leg, and catapulting him into the water.

With a scream and a splash, Remus was pulled beneath the waves. After a few worried moments for Lily, he surfaced once more, coughing and sputtering like mad.

"SIRIUS! GET YOUR SODDING ARSE DOWN HERE RIGHT BLOODY NOW!" He yelled over the breaking of the waves.

Sirius cringed and slowly began edging his way towards the water.

James grinned and turned to Lily, who was battling between yelling at James, or laughing out loud. She decided on a slight smile and a flirtatious wink.

James stared, wide-eyed, as she sashayed down to the water, flipping her hair and pulling off the t-shirt she was wearing over her suit. Lily laughed to herself as she made her way to where Sirius and Remus were wrestling in the water, making sure to stay a good distance away from the tussle though.

She waded in till the water was just brushing her knees before turning back to look at James. He was beaming, his surfboard abandoned on the sand, his eyes bright with expectation.

Lily's stomach did a little flip-flop as she watched him. She shivered a bit when the wind picked up, blowing her long scarlet hair wildly about her face. But even as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself, trying to preserve the little warmth she had, she decided that she wouldn't change a single thing. Well, except for maybe it being James's arms wrapped around her instead of her own. But she felt more at peace in that moment than ever in her life as she listened to the waves washing ashore, and Sirius and Remus still laughing. And she didn't think she had seen anything so heartwarming as the sight of James coming to meet her in the water. She wondered if anyone else was feeling the way she did. That for one second in a world where everything goes wrong, that everything was just right. And as James pulled her close, she could only think of one thing:

It was the perfect end to the perfect summer.

* * *

**so what did everyone think? please tell me in a review!! and if you have any funny ideas for stuff that could happen when they get back to Hogwarts, please let me know!! I know that there will defnitely be some Snivellus, some McGonnagal, and some Dumbldore in there.. becuase they all rock my sox... and you guys will too when you all REVIEW!! dude.. i just rhymed... AHHHH is scaring self**


	11. SEQUEL!

HELLO ALL!!! Have you missed me? I just decided to put this up to let you all know that I have written the first chapter of this story's sequel. If you would care to read it, you can get it from my profile page. Here's the summary…

The Marauders are Back!

James and Lily are finally together and the marauders couldn't be happier. But how will the rest of Hogwarts feel about it?

Please read it and review!! Thanks very much!


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